Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Key West city officials turned down a $2.7 million offer from the county's Mosquito Control Board for city-owned property on Stock Island.

In a letter to the lawyer representing Mosquito Control, Key West City Manager Jim Scholl said he would not recommend the sale, nor the renewal of its current lease, to city commissioners.

The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District has been leasing property on College Road from the city for more than 20 years. In the early 1970s, the mosquito district paid for the construction of its building there, Director Ed Fussell said on Tuesday.

The district now wants the city to extend its dollar-a-year lease for 10 years and sell the district two adjacent pieces of property. One currently houses the offices of Easter Seals, while the other is a vacant lot that holds a mobile home.

The existing Mosquito Control building is failing and has significant structural problems, said Steve Smith, chairman of the Mosquito Control Board.

"Our lease is up in 2014, and according to [Scholl's] letter, the city is not even contemplating renewing our lease," Smith said. "We had previously submitted a formal proposal and were told to get an updated proposal and make an offer. To me, this letter is a 180-degree turnaround."

Key West City Commissioner Dan Kolhage, whose district includes the Stock Island property, said on Tuesday that he had not reviewed the offer, but would have questions before supporting the sale, such as the appraised value of the land and other financial matters.

"I'd like to see where they got their figures and get some feedback from constituents," he said. "But selling it might help the city pay off some debt."

City Commissioner Mark Rossi on Tuesday said he supported the sale of the property.

"Sell it and put the money toward a new city hall," Rossi said. "The property does nothing for us right now. The matter needs to be looked into, and the property probably needs to be sold."

In his letter to attorney Joshua Hauserman, Scholl said that many factors had contributed to city staff's refusal of the offer, "including an overriding need to determine the city's requirements for the future use of all city-owned real estate. ... We must also consider the future highest and best use of this property based upon its location and accessibility to schools, the hospital and public transportation."

He added that city laws governing disposition of city-owned property would require that it be offered for sale publicly before the city could receive sealed bids.

"Accordingly, it is not legally possible to accept the offer to purchase," Scholl wrote.

Commissioner Barry Gibson, along with Kolhage and Rossi, on Tuesday was not aware of the city's refusal of the offer.

Gibson surmised it might be a method for the city to get a higher offer from the Mosquito Control District. He added that he would be interested in selling all three pieces of property rather than selling two and continuing to lease the third piece.

Fussell said the city would profit from the sale. "We're only paying a dollar a year," he said. "They ought to sell it to us and make some money."

He added that plans would include the construction of a new building on the purchased parcels while continuing to use the existing building on leased property during construction.

Scholl could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.

mbolen@keysnews.com